He's Our Professor
by Eve Nightingale
Summary: A story of four freshmen in Central Collage who try to 'woo' the best looking teacher, Professor Elric. Can any of them reach the lofty goal of seducing him?
1. Chapter 1

An expirment I decided on in the last little while.  
>Lets roll with it and see where we end up, huh?<p>

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><p><em>Chapter 1<em>

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><p>I have to tell you about this teacher I had. Of course it wasn't only me, twas a class of thirty; I was merely part of it. It was 1934. His name was Edward Elric and he taught alchemy at our local university.<p>

When I say 'our', I mean the girls who occupied the majority of my life in high school. We understood each other very well and our bond was strong. I think it was because we were very conscious of one another. Growing up in the same city, we had all know each other for years so we had become comfortable with one another. We all even graduated at the same time and ended up getting in the same university, Central University. Different courses, except for one, one which we all shared.

That's where we met this vision of a teacher, Mr. Elric; rather, Professor Elric. Long hailed as a genius alchemist who had been stripped of his brilliant talents, the Fullmetal Alchemist was our professor. What class exactly? All the important stuff happened after class, so that doesn't matter.

Only thirty-five and already a professor. He received his degree at the age of twenty five and was teaching the following year. The youngest professor to date. It seemed he was going for the record of being the youngest everything.

Edward held the record for being the youngest recorded alchemist, a fact not mentioned enough. The youngest state alchemist. Youngest member of the military. Youngest humanitarian. And now youngest professor. A hero with a beautiful physique and studded with golden eyes and laced with matching hair. A steely intense face for passionate lectures. A calm, soothing smile for when it was casual time. Truly a remarkable man. It was no wonder we all wanted him. The best part about him was that our grades never fell in his class. Being so transfixed had that effect.

"I'd sire him," Dana gushed. She was a mythology buff who had an odd tendency to vampire-ize everything.

Charis looked like she ate something sour, "that's creepy," she said. She was our only virgin. Not that we identified her by her chastity, we just promised her we would locate a 'lay-able' boyfriend for her in collage (long story, we'll get there). Aside from that, she aspired to become a pastry chef; I imagined she was going to run a business as sweet as she was.

"Only one bite and he'd be mine for eternity." She rested her wooed cheek on a limp fist. Dana was a good person, she wouldn't hurt a fly, it was when it came to her lore that things grew uneasy. You name your creeper and she could fill your head with the most obscure facts about them.

Facts like, "I thought you said vampires couldn't have sex?" I was the pragmatic one, trying to blow a logical hole in her plans.

Dana shrugged, "I wouldn't care. I'd just stare at him until the world ended."

I imagined that to be very boring, "...well, I sat up front. I get to watch his butt as he writes notes. That's enough for me." Pragmatic, yes, but still a hormone ravaged freshman no less. Though I assumed I had no chance of getting with him, that still didn't stop me from enjoying staring at – being taught by him.

The last member of our group was Kendra, the politically driven, social butterfly. Student council president and valedictorian. Captain of the debate team and the swim team; a gold medal for each (local, not Olympic). She was an accomplished student and well rounded to boot. Her reason for hanging out with us was probably the vainest reason I'd heard in my life. Apparently a rag-tag band like us wasn't going to leach off her popularity. An answer truly as obscure as we were. We thought it was funny; probably because it was partly true. None of us cared about her success. I shouldn't say it like that. We did care, but that wasn't the reason we were friends.

During the noon time hour, we had all conglomerated in the lunch room. It was dotted with tables and chairs, in no particular order, and lined with kiosks. They sold a lot of different foods to accommodate the diverse taste buds that were the student body. People from around the world flocked to Central in hopes of getting the best of best for education. We were fortunate to live in the city.

The lunchtime conversation consisted of 'him', of Edward. Finally I broke the giddy palaver that was looming around the table, "I don't see a point in setting yourself up for a let down. He probably gets this all the time." I had a milkshake that day, strawberry if I recall, it was drawing more attention from me than the racing hormones. We were discussing the possibility of one of us bedding him before the year was out.

"But we'll be the first ones to succeed." Kendra had a tendency to make lofty claims. Being too used to getting what you wanted left one in such a state. Delusions of grandeur. She eyed the hall Mr. Elric's office was down in hopes of shooting him a passing glance.

"How do you know that?" Charis pondered out loud.

Kendra rolled her eyes, "Because I would have heard about it. I have quite the network in this city. If any student tried to make a move on him, I'd know about it." She pointed out with pride.

"What if it happened in years past and no one here remembers it?" I counter pointed.

Without a change in her unamused facial expression, she brought her single strap, black, school bag to her lap and half-way tugged out a file, "I used a fine tooth comb and found no incident reports. He's been untainted by other students." She hid the papers away once again, knowing full well she shouldn't have been snooping. "He's pure."

"I'm sure he's had sex before," Charis said vacantly. She was sweet, but as flakey as a pastry.

"I'm sure he's married," Dana suggested.

"He is," Kendra continued, "But his wife lives in Resembool. She's an automail surgeon," she said and leaned in close, "that's good and far enough away for this to work. If we use the right angle, I'm sure one of us can do it."

"I doubt it," I began, "Not all men are chasing tail at his age. Besides, would he be willing to risk his whole career on freshmen?" Student teacher relationships were taboo, as they always had been. We all sat an stared at one another for a few awkward seconds. Unfortunately, by the end of lunch, we had decided to go through with it anyway. Even I joined in. Who knew? We might succeed. Well, one would.

"If you aren't confident enough Genie, you can leave him to us. That'll better my odds." Kendra remarked.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't think you'd be threatened by my presence. I'm flattered."

She scoffed with a smirk, "As if. He may toss you a pity lay is all."

"Pity? I was the first of us to bed a man. Zip it." I snapped, playfully. Our group dynamic was one that took a long time to comprehend. We ragged on one another in times of competition. It was our way of being playful. I'm sure if any of us thought for a moment that we meant the things we said, we'd hate each other. It was all in good fun.

As these plans were set in stone, we agreed that it wouldn't effect our friendship. Far be it for a man to come in between us. We had been so close for so long, it wouldn't feel right. Besides, what with the age gap, nothing solid was going to come of it anyway. A one night stand, or a fling at best. We segmented and made our way to our respective classes for the afternoon. Dana and I broke off from the the other two and coursed down a hallway our classes shared. "This is silly," I said, hoping Dana would follow.

She snickered, "Me too. No harm in trying though?"

I sighed, "What if he gets insulted?"

"How?"

"With us thinking he'd be into young girls. He's nearly twice our age, what if we offend him?"

She continued, "Play it like you were only flirting. If he picks up, good. If not, oh well."

"That's sneaky." I worried.

"That's what makes it _fun_," she said as if I should have known already.

I didn't like it. Sure the fantasies were enticing, but I didn't think it was going to work. "I guess," agreeing out of the sheer fact of not wanting to be excluded. My mother rubbed off on me well, so I frequently forwent the more dangerous endeavors the girls went on. This wasn't going to be one of those times; I went against what I felt was right and joined the nonsense. It was rather funny how everything happened too. It's my favorite story to tell. How we went about it all was such a neatly coriographed plot. I'd tell this story a million times if I could.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm enjoying the way this is turning out so far. Any of you who read my other stuff, you'll know I love twists.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<strong>_

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><p>When it came to logic, I was usually pretty quick to catch on, but with Kendra's logic, I'm left in the dust. Her reasoning: We had the best chance for success because of our appearances. We were diverse. Dana sported a slender librarian look. Charis was a petite blond who wore dresses covered in flowers. I was tall and curvy while Kendra had a 'success' appeal coupled with a gymnast body.<p>

All of those traits spread out over the four of us, Kendra felt we covered all the bases. "One of us is bound to get him." I quoted her into the mirror.

"That's the plan. Oooo," Charis brightened up, "What if he's my first?"

I calmed her down, "Don't bank on it, this is just for fun."

"But he's so cute," she beamed, "I have to try!"

"You'll get him...provided you don't chicken out again." I coaxed, sarcastically.

"Come on Genie! You don't have to say it like that," she pouted. We had set her up on a date with a young gentleman from back home, but she didn't have the nerve to get undressed in front of him. And she had come so close too. "I think if it were Mr. Elric I wouldn't mind." She blushed and rubbed her cheeks, "I bet he'd be really sweet to me."

That day after class that day she stayed behind to talk to him, yet made no attempt at flirting. "What happened?" I had waited outside the door for her.

She came out with a disappointed look on her face. "I didn't pass in the final page of my report, it stuck to the back of my book. That's all he wanted." She sighed, "Every time I look at him I get scared. I was going flirt with him that time too! I swear!"

"There's always next time." I smiled, little did I know I had an eyebrow raised. I quickly noticed and lowered it before she looked to me again.

"What do I do?" she placed a loose book in her bag.

I shrugged, "There's the option of finding a real boyfriend."

"No," she said with a clenched, determined fist, "I have to try."

The next time we all shared the class, Charis stayed behind again to talk with him. She sat in a front seat as the professor straightened some things on his desk. "What's on your mind?" he asked casually. He had such a charming demeanor.

Charis brought her knees together tightly and held tightly. "I wanted to thank you for the lesson today," and she proceeded to mention her favourite points. "Its only been a few months, but I feel I've taken so much from hearing your lectures." Her own brand of flattery. Covered in butter.

"I'm glad to hear it. I've studied alchemy since I was five, it just feels natural talking about it. I like how it helps my students connect to the material easier." He stood casually against the front of his desk.

"Since you were five?" she said with surprise and sat forward, those hands still firmly planted on her knees, not wanting her dress to show anything prematurely, "What made you want to start so early?"

"I had some of my father's alchemy books, he left them behind in our old house. My start was right there. I guess it was my way of wanting to get to know him. Or at least, know how he worked."

"Your dad? Did he leave?" She asked a personal question.

He gave her a look of curiosity, "Why do you want to know?"

Charis shrug with adorable tilt of her head, "I wanted to know more about you." Figuring her sweet countenance would earn points, she tried to dig deeper. It earned her nothing in the end.

He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he brushed by her, "I'm your teacher. You aren't suppose to know me on a personal level. Lets say, the old man left to follow his passion," to which Mr. Elric looked at his watch, "much like myself. I have a meeting to get to, can you lock up here when you're done?" He departed.

My poor little friend, she looked like someone had kicked her puppy. She came back into the lunch room and lined up with me for food. "What happened?"

And so, she proceeded to tell me the story. "Why was that a personal level? What did he mean? Maybe I moved too quickly. Some boys get nervous when you appear to be coming on too strong." She took a glass from a nearby stand and held it over to counter to order some juice. The clerk filled it and handed it back.

"That's true...but he's not a boy...he's a grown man."

She sipped the juice sadly but brightened up quickly, "That's right!" Charis whipped around and handed her newly ordered juice to me, apple juice I think, "I didn't come on strong enough! I'll be back, don't drink that." She pointed at the cup then peeled off out of the lunch room for destinations unknown.

Before I could get a word out, she was too far to even yell to. I was left there holding my food and her drink, "...oh well." I drank her juice. She forgot about it for a week, then called me out on it. Later on in the evening Charis got me to meet her downtown on a relitvely busy street. It was a part of town that was kept up rather well, not a scrap of garbage anywhere.

I had been wondering where Charis went off to, but as soon as I saw her, I needn't wonder any longer. Charis had gone shopping. "What's all this now?" I commented on her new attire.

"I realized something," she said, flattening the sides of her newly acquired skirt. "I dress like a little girl, because of that he didn't take me seriously. So I bought this stuff," she said with glee and gave a twirl. Charis had moved up from pink and flowery to striped and classy. Her shirt was a series of thin horizontal stripes, ranging from pastel green, yellow and light brown. Her belt was thick, black and shiny and held her navy pleated skirt in place. She topped it all off with a barret. The girl knew her fashion well, she looked very sharp.

I tapped my chin, deep in thought,"I like it, it's classy. But you shouldn't be changing yourself to fit someone else's standards."

She waved her hand, "Don't worry, I'm not. This is only temporary." Charis straightened the white collar of her undershirt and took off the barre, it was brown, matching the brown lines in the shirt. A nice touch. She revealed fluffy blond curls, newly cut.

My eyes widened, "You cut it off?" I was kind of mad, "Why would you cut it for this. You said you were growing it out again." She wanted me to do it all in braids, we were just waiting until it was long enough.

"I did, but then I passed by this hat, then came along a salon with a cute style," she referenced the light loose curls that covered halfway down the back of her neck. She twirled her hat around the tip of her finger on its brim. "I couldn't resist! See over there?" She pointed.

With slight relief I looked over her head to see what she was looking at (she was that short or I was that tall). Charis got me to meet her at a cafe turned pub. "We can't get in here, the line is huge." It was a popular spot every day of the week. Being a resturant and bar all in one, how couldn't it be? We were nineteen at the time, so we could get in, that wasn't a problem. Though from where we stood, it looked like a week before we'd see a table or drink. "He's here isn't he?"

She got a smirk that I best described as 'cat like'. "Ya-huh. I made a plan." She pulled me along the line to the door where we butted in front of a soon-to-be patron. He protested, "My dad runs this place. Shut it!" she snapped and whisked me through the front door. Obviously her father didn't own the place. "Quick thinking on your part." I complimented.

"Thanks," and we looked around to see the bouncer. A lumbering giant of a man, black hair and steely light blue eyes.

"Did you factor him in?" I said with a nervous breath, through a nervous smile. What could I do? He was massive. I'd seen smaller cola machines.

She nodded and stepped up to the man and got him to lean down. After whispering something in his ear, he nodded. "ID first." Charis nodded excitedly and we both showed him our cards and he walked over and locked the front door. "Alright, lets see em'"

I was confused, "We already showed-" Charis cut me off.

She tugged at the tucked in portion of my shirt, "It's a small price to pay for love Genie."

I could feel my face grow red hot, "No, no-I didn't aggre-" I was no flasher.

"Please?" Her eyes got glossy, how could I say no? She was too cute sometimes.

"You're buying." Reluctantly I untucked my shirt and did as instructed. Charis was usually quite reserved. I figured out where she got the new persona at, it was in a bottle. When I got a bit closer to her, I took note of the scent of liquid courage. For someone so demure, the girl sure did like her rum. She had drank before she even left the house apparently. "Sometimes I don't think I know you," I said as we entered the main hall. I was joking. As embarrassing as it was, I was sure it would make for an interesting story.

"And you never will, haha...Hmmm," she said as her eyes scanned the room.

"That's the last time I listen to you when you say" my voice grew an octave in pitch, "'_Wear something __light_'. Huh?" And before I knew it I was being pulled to the bar. I ordered dark cola, vodka and lime. Charis went for the tried and true, rum on the rocks. I got her to try the lime in her drink. She ended up liking it and until this day, she orders a slice with her drink.

"There he is...who's that he's sitting with?" she asked and picked up her head to stretch her neck out. He was sitting next to another man who looked strikingly similar, just with shorter hair.

I peeked in their general direction, the crowd made it difficult, "...I think that may be his brother."

"He's cute too."

"Focus."

"Right." She corrected herself. "Are we ready?" she asked as if I knew what was going on. I might as well have left my feet at home, Charis was pulling me all over the place that night. In fact, she pulled me up to the table of my professor and a complete stranger. I was nowhere near drunk enough to do these sorts of things. I wasn't even through my first drink. "Look who it is! What were the chances of this?" she said, feigning 'utter surprise'. She was obviously drunk, I assumed they thought so as well. I didn't get the feeling they knew she was lying, they thought she was just wasted. I later found out she had stalked him to find out where he was going that night (Don't worry, I had a chat with her about it).

"Charis," Professor Elric said with surprise, "What brings you to this kind of place in the middle of the week. Don't you have class tomorrow?" He playfully scolded her.

"I don't have class till the afternoon tomorrow," she leaned over the table, "What are **you** doing here on a school night?" she playfully inquired.

"This is my brother, Alphonse. He's visiting from Resembool." They shook hands, I followed suit.

"What brings you to Central?" she fired up the conversation as she took a seat.

Alphonse smiled, "My wife and I are here on business." Thus the small talk ensued.

Ed and Al were quite gracious and bought a few drinks for us. Several times I suggested 'last one' to which Charis replied 'one more'. This happened a few times. I also noticed a flask in her purse, which I took as soon as I noticed. "I told you, class don't start till the noon time for me Wednesday. I'll be fine." She waved a floppy hand at me. I noticed her words were slipping too.

"Tomorrow's Tuesday," Alphonse corrected her.

"Yeah," Ed backed him up.

"Really?" she looked at either of them in sheer amazement. "My first one is at eight then." It was now ten-thirty at night, prospects fortold of a rough morning.

"Think you'll make it?" Edward snickered and commented that he had been in the same boat when he was in school.

She gave him a 'Hoo-yeash' and that was all she could muster. They got up and left shortly after that. Possibly leading by example. "Soooo...," she slumped her head over and held out a scrap of paper, "I got his number."

I finished my drink and shook my head with derision, "He said to call if you needed study help."

"Aaaand you know what that means," she giggled suggestively, "Little study here, little drinky there, then he slips me a little sumthin-sunthin," she pinched my arm playfully and laughed out loud. She was acting like a fool.

The next day, shortly after eight, I dropped off a bag of ice to Charis. "Was it worth it?" I asked with a smirk.

Taking the cold pack and placing against her head she groaned, "Totally not. I don't remembering a thing from halfway through the evening," Charis sat and waited for the lesson to begin; the teacher was running late, she got lucky. Last night, before I said my goodbye's to Charis at her front door, I took the number from her and didn't tell her she had received it. Stalking was a serious offense, I need not exasserbate it. "Daaaaaanaa...copy notes for me?" she said and laid her head down on the ice.

Dana looked over her book from the back isle, "Got it."

Kendra came in from the back door seconds later, she was probably looking for me. We shared a class that morning. She had a look of annoyance on her face. Granted Kendra always looked like something was annoying her, but knowing her for so long, I notice slight shifts in her mood. "What's wrong?"

She held up half a sandwich, "I say no cheese, and I get cheese. I just spent ten minutes dissecting my food." The kiosk in particular she got the sandwich from used grated cheese. She loved cheese, but was unfortunately afflicted with being lactose intolerant.

"Maybe if you ask for extra, they won't put any on," Charis said weakly. She was a trooper.

"You'll have to test that. We've got to go now." Kendra and myself. I looked to Dana, "We're still heading to the library after last class, right?" Which was Professor Elric's class. Last

Dana nodded, "Yes," she said. We were working on some writing project for our mid-semester mark.

At the end of the day we met up in the reference section of the library. I was well lit and not a speck of dust could be found. Normally the reference section was the unloved section of the library, but not at this school. The students were adamant about their studies, the majority of them were aspiring alchemists. That in mind, the books had a better chance of falling apart than they did of decomposing. Let alone have time to collect dust.

That day wasn't busy at all, we were the only ones in the library. Save for the receptionist, who couldn't think of anything better to do than chew gum then stretch and twirl it around her finger. I came into the aisle only to see Dana with her fingers gripping her book in a death hold. It looked like she was near the end. I gathered it was an intense scene. What with the intense expression.

I stood in silence, for I knew better than to interrupt her. A lesson I learned long ago. She shut the book and let out a sigh. "I knew it." She wiped a tear from beneath her glasses the corner of her eye. A long sleeve dried the drop. "Such beautiful writing, I shed a tear." She held up the single dark dot on her cuff. "See."

I smiled, "I'll have to give it a read someday." I wasn't really one for novels, I was a research kind of gal.

"I doubt you'd enjoy it," she handed it to me, "Read the back."

"Vampires," I said as it was the first word I automatically took note of. Maybe I was expecting the word subconsciously, so it jumped off the page. I flipped the book to the cover again, "Oh well. I'm not for romance anyway," and handed it back her.

"I have one for you back home. I'll grab it for you on Saturday." We heard the door open and shut. Someone entered the library. We ignored it. "Where did we leave off?" she said and we got started right away.

Only a few seconds in and Mr. Elric appeared in our aisle. "I thought I heard you say you'd be here." He walked up to Dana and handed her a small stack of papers. "I loved your imagery in the chapter with the forest."

'_He proof read her book?_' I thought. Dana said she was writing a novel of her own and wanted to get his opinion on it. Bravo.

"I only gave it to you this morning." She took it back, and seemed surprised.

He held one arm up in a shrug, "I'm quick at reading. But your writing is tiny. I had to wear my glasses to see it."

"Oh sorry, I'll use a typewriter next time...you wear glasses? I never see you with them on."

He referenced the marks on the bridge of his nose. "They pinch, so I don't wear them often." We all talked for a bit and he took his leave. "Did you hear him?" Dana's expression looked intense again.

I sat far back in my chair as Dana leaned right over the table. "Yes, he was standing right in front of me." A ditzy observation. But remember, she had known me a long time and I usually when I responded like that, it was because I required and elaboration of context. A funny quirk when it's timed right. A good example was when we went to see a move last week and I said I hated it. Charis asked me, word for word, 'How could you hate that movie?' My response, not missing a beat, 'Trust me, it was very easy.'

"He said he wore glasses," Dana looked as though she struck gold.

"Yeah, oh...right." Dana had a thing for guys in glasses.

"I have to see them." Now this was a look I knew as well. It was the expression that screamed 'I need to write'. I would have put any money on her handing me a novel beginning within the next few days. She wrote what she knew, then she threw a vampire edge to it. She wrote wearwolf one once on request. She had plans for a big novel that included many creepy crawlers of the night. Chances are, Mr. Elric was going to inspire the hero in the new book.

I shrugged. "Not you too." I had hoped Dana was going to follow my lead and fawn over him from afar. I was wrong. I zoned out as she prattled on, wondering what they looked like. "Thick frames? Thin ones? Round? Square? Rectangle? Maybe they're elliptical like mine!" She jumped up from her chair. "You have to help me." She pointed a finger at me.

I hated it when she got manic like this, she tended to get pushy. 'Insistent' as she called it. "Why?" I asked with grief.

"You helped Charis." And damn, I did. I told her about the number, so she knew I was helpful.

I damned myself for being helpful. "Fine."

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><p>I'm having fun with this one.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

I was hoping to keep this short, and it seems to be working. Couple more chapters I think.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

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><p>Dana watched furiously through the door, waiting to see if he reached for the case. "Come on..." the wind blew the small crack in the door shut. "Awww..."<p>

"Maybe if the light was low he might need them?" I suggested.

Dana thought that would work, so we trekked off to the supply closet down the hall to grab the lowest voltage bulb we could find. When he left his office again, she would slip in and replace the bulb. Later that day, she would mysteriously show up with another book for him to read. There was already another one she was working on, so she was going to show him that. She would ask him an opinion on the opening of the book so he would more than likely put the glasses on for that.

"Why not just ask him to put them on?" I suggested.

"I'm too shy Genie. If this doesn't work, we'll have to come up with another plan."

"I could ask him for you." I suggested again.

"No! He'll ask you why. I'd be too embarrassed." She blushed deep red.

"Okay-okay. We'll be sneaky." I let out a sigh.

"Don't feel bad. You're good at being sneaky." She smiled and picked up her bag.

I folded my arms, "You say that as if I can brag about it." We ducked quickly into an intersecting hall when we heard Professor Elric get up from his desk. We held each others mouths shut. He walked in the opposite direction, he didn't even pass by. We let out a sigh.

"I think he's gone." Dana peeked out from behind the corner. She saw the top of his head slowly disappearing down the stairs. "Lets go." The plan was going good so far, he left and we swapped the bulbs. He would be in there again after class this evening. We would wait till then. He had class late and Dana was working in the library, so the times worked out well. I loved it when things lined up conveinently.

That evening, when Dana finished in the library, she gave herself twenty minutes after Mr. Elric's last class. She was sure to bring along the story for him to read. As mentioned earlier, she mysteriously happened by and gave him the book. "I was wondering if I could get a quick opinion on the opening of the first chapter. I kind of felt it went unloved."

He went to open it but checked his watch first. "I'm sorry Dana, I have to be at a meeting. Leave it with me and I'll get it to you in the morning."

She kept the smile on her face and said, "Sounds great. Bye then," and turned and left. This time with a look of depression on her face. After finding me in the dining hall (I cleaned every night) she flopped down hard in a chair.

Leaning on my wet-dry broom, I tilted my head, "Did he read it?" asked, almost totally sure of the answer.

"He said he would, but he had to go to a meeting and he'd get to it in the morning, and now I'm sad." she said with regret. "I'll have to try again."

"We," I said with a smile.

Dana smiled back at me, "Thanks...Oh! I brought that romance one you wanted to see." Dana appeared to be writing a million things at once. Once you get the creative bug, it was really hard to shake. "I know you aren't one for romance, but this one is good."

"Great. Toss it in my bag and I'll read it tonight." She said it was short, but the bundle of papers she put in my bag looked so big. Apparently, Dana had no grasp of the word small. After she left, I finished up behind the counter and took a seat to wait for the bus. To kill some time, I took out the gifted reading materials and began on the fist page. "A Drafters Request?" I said aloud. That didn't much sound like a romantic name. Upon further inspection I discovered that this was the material she wanted Mr. Elric to read.

Frantically, I ran back into the school and booted it toward my alchemy professor's office. He had to grade papers till eleven o'clock. I heard him complaining about it earilier that day. Hoping I wasn't too late, I laid a heave fist on the dark wooden frame of his door. "Please be in here..." I said quietly to myself.

He cracked the door and greeted me. I was face to face with this teacher of mine. This amazingly gorgeous teacher. His eyes were gold, particularly iridescent when viewed up close. I was tall, so I was almost the same height as him; it gave me a great view. Not that he was very tall to begin with, average male height. But he didn't have the body of a thirty-five year old, more like twenty-two. I could even make out the defined tone of his muscle beneath his button up shirt and dark brown vest-I snapped to. I was probably blushing so I held up the papers to block it. Hopefully my bangs covered some as well. "I think there's been a mix up."

"Oh, really," he opened his door, "come in. I was just getting ready to pack up."

I drew a deep breath and explained about the reading and apologized profusely for any potential vulgarity he may have been subjected to. He only laughed. "Oh, did you not read it?" I asked hopefully.

"I did. And don't worry, there was nothing tasteless in here. Not quite my style though, I don't understand the vampire appeal. But if that was the wrong one, I'd believe it," he took the papers from my hand and skimmed the fist few lines. "Yes. This seems more up my alley. Thank you."

He smiled, "No problem. Also, could you not tell Dana about this. She's got a bit of a vampire thing, and you could very well could run her into hiding if she found out you read this."

"She does seem shy. No problem. I never read it." He crossed his arms in front and washed his hands of the experience. "Though, I can't help but notice..." he hesitated, "-the similarities in the main character to..."

"What now?" I was confused, similarity to what?

He rotated his right hand at the wrist. "Page six, second paragraph."

I went where instructed and began to read. It was a paragraph introducing the main male character. The way the descriptions went, the man sounded a lot like Edward. Except with glasses. "Oh my...that's...I'm glad there was only a chapter of this." I grievously placed the chapter in my bag.

Mr. Elric laughed out. "Don't worry. You'd be surprised, this isn't the first time this had happened."

Without moving my head, I looked up at him, "Seriously?" I shuffled the pages of the chapter into place.

He nodded, "Oh yeah. Lets just say this one in particular was very well written. And a heck of a lot cleaner than some others I've read. The girls will just drop them off anonymously sometimes. Others will give them to me face to face. I've learned to deal with it."

I smiled a bit, "I can understand why. Some girls get infatuated easily at this age. You're amazingly patient."

"The wife isn't." He admitted.

"I see. Well, I won't keep you."

"Before you go," he began, "The glasses..."

I blushed, "She has a thing for guys in glasses. Wait..." This time, I asked him for one more request. I then left to find Dana. I wanted to let her know what I thought of the chapter. I read it quickly on the way. The chapter had blank pages waiting to be filled. I guess that's why she got them mixed up.

It was about a young woman being whisked away by her uncle from an abusive home. They get run off the road and when the woman wakes up, she's in a mansion all alone. She wanders around to later be greeted by a man she does not know. He is a handsome blond man, a vampire (she mentioned fangs) with a pair of thin framed, oval glasses. I felt embarrassed for her. It wasn't poorly written, it was only her admiring him. But still, mushy. Mushy right in Mr. Elric's face.

I didn't tell her a thing about what happened, but instead, I substituted a plan I confirmed with my professor before leaving his office.

"Is it darker in here today?" Charis asked and looked around the room curiously, giving a twirl. Her dress poofed out. Feeling a lot better today, she was back to her old self.

I nodded in agreement, "I think so." I looked up to the front of the classroom to see Mr. Elric squinting a paper. "Is there something wrong with the light?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yeah. They told me it should be fixed by lunch."

We all sat down for the days lesson. Twenty, or so, minutes into class Edward had to stop on account of a headache. After another comment about the lighting, he begrudgingly put his glasses on. I could hear Dana next to me stop breathing for a moment. They weren't oval like she'd hoped. They were rectangle. Thin frames. silver in color and black for the face. They made him look older. Or maybe more mature. Either way, I kind of saw what Dana was gushing over.

After class she was off like a dress on prom night. She pulled Kandra along with her and I'm sure they left a smoke trail they went so fast. I stayed behind to finish the notes. As much as I loved my research, I hated writing notes.

"That was pretty clever." Mr. Elric commented. "Dim the lights so I have to use the glasses. I like it." He reached behind the bookcase and turned on the remaining two lights. "There we go."

"I would have replaced all the bulbs if I needed to." I joked. That was my initial plan until he told me about the hidden switches.

"She could have asked me to try them on. I have no problem with being seen in them. Again, this isn't the first time this has happened."

"I'd believe it. But if I asked you like that, she would have known."

"Then you could have assumed responsibility for this scheme," he said, referencing the lights.

I shrugged, "I didn't want to have to find an explanation. Plus, if you weren't in on it, you would have known to fix the lights right away."

He nodded again. "True. It's a shame you can't take any credit for this. You're a good friend."

"I try." I departed shortly after. Towards the end of the day, I saw Dana sitting next to Kendra in the lunch room. Kendra was doodling away in her sketchbook.

"A little thicker," Dana instructed.

"What are you two up to?" I asked and sat across from them.

"...there. Good?" she asked as she held up her drawing. It was a sketch of Mr. Elric reading a book and looking up as if he were surprised by something. Of course, he had the glasses on. Kendra scored the page with a blade and removed it carefully from her book. "I'll bring hairspray tomorrow so it won't smudge," she said an put away her supplies.

"Thank you so much," As though she was holding a delicate robins egg, she held the picture delicatly and admired it's penmanship.

Kendra snickered, "I better not see kiss stains on that tomorrow." We laughed.

I was starting to see Kendra's point. About us being diverse an all. It wasn't just in looks, it was in personality and talent. Charis was a sweet, fashion designer in bloom. Dana was a shy, writer on the cusp of being published. Kendra was nothing short of a brilliant artist, tempered with leadership skills. Myself? As I said, I'm a researcher. So I do not create things as my friends do. I find answers and present them, for I am an alchemist, through and through.

Each one of our professions of choice required alchemy at one point or another for one reason or another. All I knew was, that was our bond. We didn't talk about the same things all the time, so we always found each other interesting. I never confirmed with the girls if they felt the same way, but I didn't need to. I could feel it.

After Dana sauntered off with her new picture, I left with Kendra. She was giving me a ride home today.

"So," she began, "It's my turn," she said as we waited for a break to turn out of the driveway of the school.

"Are we lined up for something?" I said. Again, a silly answer to an uninformative question.

"It's my turn to get some help from you. Both Charis and then Dana got it. I want in too."

"Neither of them worked out." I kind of lied. Normally I avoid doing so, but in an instance where I may discourage or hurt someone, I'll bend the truth a bit.

"Still. You seem to be the least interested in Edward. Dana's happy with the picture, Charis is discouraged because she disgraced herself in front of him. That just leaves you and I. Are you with me? Or are you on your own?" she said competitively.

I sighed. It seemed I was doing a lot of that lately. "I'll help you."

"Great. We're going to head to my place for a bit, is that okay?"

I nodded, "My folks are out for the evening, I don't have to make supper tonight."

"Even better." She turned right and traveled down the road further. "This one is going to take some planning. I speculate that by the end of the week, I'll have him."

"Remember, he's married," I said, feeling I shouldn't have had to remind her.

Kendra rolled her eyes. "Like that matters. She's miles away, he's lonely and I'm going to keep him company. I don't care what you think. I'm going for it," she said. I could vaugly hear the similarities between her and a spoiled child. She did get greedy at times, this looked like it was going to be one of them.

"I'm just saying, what if he's not lonely," I processed my words quickly, "or what if he has someone keeping him company already."

Kendra gave me a look of determination, "There hasn't been one thing I've done that's impossible. I'll get him. You'll see." Her smile was evil. I didn't like the feeling of this. Charis and Dana were innocent enough, but I knew that when Kendra got going, she would pull every punch.

I slouched in the passenger seat, "As long as it's nothing illegal."

"Don't worry," she said with a half mouthed smirk, "It's all going to be by the books. Legit."

Now, I was really worried.

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><p>An: Any thoughts guys?


	4. Chapter 4

On a roll!

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4<strong>_

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><p>"Am I not meant to enjoy my food?" Kendra said as she picked the cheese off her sub sandwich again. "I'm going to find out why it's so hard to get my order right." and with that, she abandoned us at the lunch table to go and yell at the people behind the counter.<p>

She had told me of her plan, it was nothing I wanted to be a part of. Sending letters to his wife was just a low blow. The idea was to 'bed' him, not ruin his marriage. I told the other two about her plan and they agreed that she was going too far. It was made very clear to Kendra that if she attempted this plan, we were no longer on speaking terms. It was harsh, but so was this idea. All she had to do was find a more civilized way to do things, and we were good.

Kendra agreed to keep it simple. Flirting. Showing interest. Flattery. Extra hours of study with him. She had already been over to his quarters for a study session. Pity for her, she wasn't the only one going. He was tutoring other students as well. I had figured that since Mr. Elric had dealt with rabid fans before, he knew the ropes on how to deal with them.

Later that day. "I don't like it...I should just tell her." I said nervously as I paced my room. Charis and Dana occupied the foot of my bed and my desk chair.

"She'll be steamed if you do." Dana mentioned.

"I know..."

"He's old enough to know how to say no," Charis added.

"I know..."

"You also said he did this before," Dana continued.

"I know, I know...I can't help wonder...has he dealt with a 'Kendra' before?" I said and my other two friends exchanged a glance. "...now you see why I'm worried."

Kendra had an interesting back story, it's too complicated to repeat, so I'll only say it left her with the inability to deal with failure. When faced with the horrid countenance of defeat, it left her stripped of everything that made her 'her'. In elementary school, I saw her chew her nails down till they bled!

At first it was only with school work. Like, if she didn't have the highest mark in class, she bought candy and ate it by the boatload. That was back in middle school. In high school, when she wasn't the one who lost her virginity first, she stewed for weeks. She binged on coffee, causing her to stay up for three days straight before she collapsed from exhaustion. Kendra was a smart person, but even a smart person can do stupid things. When we first got here, she crushed on a guy pretty hard. When she partnered with him to study, she discovered he had a girlfriend. Thus, she started binge eating ice-cream daily, yet never gained a pound. We assumed the worst.

It was first time that happened and the eating disorder didn't stay with her. She got over it, so we decided to let it go. However, a goal such as Mr. Elric to be lost may put her on a drinking binge. We had recently become of age, and there was a bar in the collage's basement.

"She always goes to the most destructive nature suitable for her age. Sugar, coffer, bulimia and now, booze. I bet." Dana suggested.

"We'll have to keep an eye on her is all," Charis said with optimism.

I tapped my fingers on the window sill, leaving shallow nail dents. "I still think we should convince her to drop this whole 'teacher' thing," I said. It was the only sensible conclusion. When everyone agreed to this in the first place, I doube any of us expected to succeed. We would need to find Kendra a boyfriend so she'd give up on the professor. Here we had promised we'd find Charis her one, who;d have thought we'd be doing this for Kendra.

Kendra expected things to go into motion by the end of the week. "It looks like we have a small window of time to work with." Dana flipped through her daily planner.

"We'd better hustle,"Charis chimed.

There was a major flaw in our plan, a hole even. Kendra could not participate. I know that sounds strange, but it was true. Each of us had a role, we played it well. I was the thinker. There wasn't a situation I wasn't prepared for; being the 'worrier' my mother was, I could always find flaw in a plan. That in mind, I could come up with ways to get around it. Dana was the timer. With her notepad in hand, she could easily time outings, create schedules and organize anything. Charis was good with field work. Being the sweet, unassuming, petite, cute little thing that she was, she was perfect for distracting people and gathering information. Also, being that she was small, she was sneaky. Kendra was our 'do' person. She also functioned as transportation. That, coupled with her ability to talk to her superiors, got the job done.

Combined, we were a force to be reckoned with, divided we were doomed. That night, we made our way to the bar in our best attires. Nothing revealing, we wanted to attract people who were of the same 'class'. She wasn't going to go for any barfly, that was for sure. We needed to find someone who matched her tastes.

We all stood side by side at the entrance, the bar was sparse. "How about..." I scanned the room. "Lets watch these guys play pool..." I nodded in the direction of the table in question. Dana stopped off for drinks. Beer. We figured if we had girly drinks, it would look like a girls night out. Beer felt casual, and it was a staple for the majority of guys in the dorms, so it also functioned as common ground.

Watching the guys playing pool was part of the plan. Who lined up their shots, who was sloppy and who didn't care about their shots, all factored in. Kendra was meticulous when it came to pool, so hunting down a challenge was a step in the right direction.

Next was physique. Now, we all loved Kendra, would take a bullet for her, but the girl was shallow. She assumed that if you don't treat yourself with respect, how could she? It made for some awkward conversations in the past, ones I wished I'd slapped her for, but digressed. Taking that to mind, we had to get someone with a healthy exterior. He didn't need to be buff like Mr. Elric, but no beer belly either.

"This is harder than I thought." I bit my thumb and scanned the room harder. "Wait...today's Tuesday..."

"It's also not pay week," Dana added.

"The cute guys only show up on the weekend. Awww." Charis finished.

I hit my forehead with my palm lightly, making a light 'pat' sound, "Kendra could have told us this." We all hung our heads.

When it came to popular culture, Kendra was the one to go to. Being the social butterfly that she was, she knew 'everything' about social etiquette. She was quite fluent in 'urban speak' you could say. Either words or body language, the girl knew her way around the bar floor. One conditions themselves to adhere to their lifestyle. This was Kendra. She could read a bar scene in an instant; quite handy when you want to go out, you need to know what places are safe. She called it the 'sketch-factor', what made a place look sketchy and what didn't. Hooker with a fresh bullet wound stitch, bad. Boy with an ascot, good. Many boys with the same ascot, bad. Bouncer wider than the door, good.

Back on track. It seemed that the guys who went to the basement bar during the week didn't quite fit the bill. We needed to reach out into other areas of interest. Fortunately for us, Kendra had a wide range of interests. Our local theater group was only a block away so we made our way down there. It was open, but not a soul to be found. "Everyon's at an art exhibit. Someone's giving a lecture." The curator mentioned as he heard us complaining and suggested we try down there.

"Why did I wear heals?" Charis tucked her finger into the back of her shoe in an attempt at stretching it out some.

"It's only ten blocks. Downhill. So it's not so bad." I tried to look at the bright side, but Murphy watches over me closely. "Admission only?" I read the sign aloud. The main hall was shut off for the lecture that was taking place.

"The last showing of C.A.S.T. Is playing in two days." The doorman suggested.

"We just came from the playhouse," Charis groaned.

I took a bill from my purse, "Don't worry," I said, "We'll get a cab." I thanked the doorman and we were off, back to the theater.

"They were just open last time we were here!" I couldn't believe it, the ticket booth cashier was putting a sign up. "We were just here!" I growled and shook the flimsy 'sold out' sign by its defiant little neck. "Ahh!"

"The last guy bought the remaining forty-seven tickets," the little old man who erected the sign said fearfully.

Being as tall as I was, getting mad made me look terrifying, apparently. I don't see it. "Why in the hell does he need forty-seven damn tickets?"

It was closing time. After we were shown the door, a voice came from behind us. "I heard what went on in there," he began.

"And?" I snapped.

Charis tugged my arm, "He isn't involved, put the teeth away."

I calmed down and looked at what the man produced from his pocket. Six tickets. "I'm willing to sell them at the reasonable price of 1,500 cenz. How's that sound?" he said with a devious smirk.

"That's three times the asking price!" Dana blurted.

"So you're scalping tickets...I want them." I said as I reached for my wallet.

"Genie! Scalping is illegal," she tried to persuade me.

The man in question shrugged, "You three ladies can take your men out. Don't want to miss it, do you?"

I searched my wallet and found just enough for two. "They're not for us, it's for a friend," I held up my money, "I only want two."

He stared down at the offending cash, "Uhh...if you don't buy them all together, it's 2000 cenz a ticket."

I raised an annoyed eyebrow at the man. "You've got quite the wandering profit margin."

"Don't I?" He smirked wide.

With a swift punch, I brought the man flat down on his back. Carelessly I plucked two tickets from his hand. "What's that? Only 1000 cenz a ticket now?" I said and tosses 2000 on his twitching face, "How generous." And trotted off. Dana and Charis followed, careful not to step in what was left of him on the way by.

I didn't lose my temper often, but people like him really bother me. I was fortunate he was short and skinny, if not for that, I might not have stood a chance. I smiled, saying "Alright, we've set the stage," and held up the tickets, "Now all we have to do, is cast the role."

The next few days were hell. We tried our damnedest to fill that seat, but there were no takers. It seemed the people who knew Kendra, knew her all too well. She was a control freak. Any classmate who had her as a partner, ever, could testify that was the gospel truth. Every possibility turned down the ticket offer. "The last showing of this for the next five years, and no one will go. Damn. How tolerant are we?" I said with despair.

"What if we ask her if there's someone in mind?" Charis suggested.

I perked up. "...We could tell her we saw how bummed she was about not getting the professor."

"I think it'll work," Dana piped up. "I can give them to her next class." I left the tickets with Dana and relaxed, knowing all was going well. At least I hoped it was.

I crossed my fingers, but I guess I did so a few seconds too late. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kendra. She was standing behind Mr. Elric in line. She was a few people behind him, so it kind of looked like she was following him. "Guys! Down low." I instructed and we fanned out, leaning in such a way, different lunchroom objects blocked her vision of us. "Is she following him," I asked and looked in the correct direction.

Dana used her peripherals to see the situation. "I can't tell. He does eat there occasionally, while Kendra eats there everyday." It was anyone's call.

Over closer to the line, Mr. Elric was waiting to be served. Kendra popped up beside him. "I didn't know you ate here." She successfully broke the ice.

"Huh? Oh, yes. I forgot to make my lunch this morning."

"Three and seven." The clerk called only a few second into her approach.

Kendra looked shocked, "That's odd," she said, "I just ordered." She took her sandwich, "Yeah, it's the right one." With cheese. "Hey!" she bellowed, "Once! Just once, could you get my order right? I can't eat cheese! I'll swell up like a puffer fish!"

"Kendra?" Mr. Elric tried to interject.

"They do this to me every Friday! I eat here everyday, and it's the guy on Friday who always screws it up. I want to talk to the manager!" she leaned over the counter, the man at the cash register looked terrified.

"Kendra." Edward began again, "I have your sandwich." He held the plate towards her.

She blushed. The scene she made drew a lot of unwanted attention. "Oh...sorry," she said to the guy over the counter. Kendra held her plate to Mr. Elric and they swapped meals. "You got the glazed chicken too."

He smiled, "I guess that's why they were done at the same time."

Kendra smiled sweetly, "I was going to ask this after class, but, can I get some help on next week's assignment. Are you busy after work?" she gave the impression that she was shy about asking, but considerate of his job. Even referring to it as 'after work' and not 'after class' gave it a mature feel.

"I'm not doing anything this evening. Why not drop by around six?" he suggested.

With a nod she flashed him a smile, "Sounds perfect." Did she do it? She had gotten him to agree to extra study time on a day off. So that was a start.

We all exchanged glances. "Now way..." I said and just shook my head. "This isn't what it looks like." From that point on, only time would say one way or the other.


End file.
